ohhh!

Josie's latest facial expression...she does it dozens of times every day, and it cracks me up every time! Oh, in the picture she's modeling the newest of my creations...I have been sewing again.

And here she is...busted messing up my bowls in the kitchen...

thought of the day

...sometimes I don't know why this old world can't leave well enough alone

name that song and singer for bonus points...

baby update

Little Rylee continues to do well. She has spent some time under the bili lights, has been digesting her feedings, and has put on a couple of ounces. She did need a blood transfusion because of low hemoglobin, but is still breathing all on her own and is very fiesty:)

welcome, rylee marie

My niece had her baby at 27 weeks 4 days this past Saturday morning. Labor was imminant and she was breach so they took her c section. Rylee Marie weighed in at 2 lb 5 oz and 15.25 inches long. As of yesterday morning she is miraculously breathing all on her own! No respirator, no CPAP...nothing. I was lucky enough to sneak in a visit today and I was truly in awe. I will keep you up to date on how this new little one is doing!

update on Kristen

Last night Kristen started bleeding from what is most likely a placental abruption, her placenta is peeling away from the wall of the uterus. Her and the baby are still stable, but her doctor doesn't think it will be long before the baby is born. The risk of infection is high, even though she is on antibiotics, because her water is broken, so they wouldn't try to stop contractions if they were to start. They said that her body doesn't want to be pregnant for some reason any more, and in this case it would be safer to let the baby come than to attempt to keep it in.

Kristen will be 26 weeks pregnant tomorrow, which is a much better place to be at than she was a week ago, so that's great. But it's still very very early and they have a long road ahead of them with the best of circumstances. Please keep this little baby girl in your prayers so that she will be born strong and ready for her fight.

request for prayers

My niece, Kristen, is 25 weeks pregnant, and last night she started leaking amniotic fluid. They did an ultrasound and most of the fluid was gone but she was not having any contractions. She will need to stay in the hospital until the baby's born, which will hopefully not be for another 7 weeks at least. She is on meds to ward off infection and has gotten the steroid shots to help mature the lungs. Now she waits...Please pray that this baby is able to stay put long enough to come out healthy and strong! I will keep you posted.

just because...

I took a lot of pictures over the weekend, here are some of my favorites...

new trick

Josie was suppose to be going to sleep tonight when Daddy caught her standing up in her crib for the first time. She was so proud!

blog name change

Just wanted you all to note that I've given my blog a more positive name (it was Stop the Ride)...it's a reflection of a bit of an attitude adjustment on my part. For those of you who know me well, I've already said enough. For those of you who aren't as familiar with the workings of my mind, lets just say that I'm trying to count my blessings:) I'll let you know how it goes.

Saturday Morning Fun

Fort Fun!! Here are Josie and Kaden in a fort they built by the couch.

Get ready...first the pillow...

...then the blanket...

Jordan's 12!!

Last weekend we celebrated Jordan's 12th birthday! Here he is as a baby:) Him and his friends decorated the cake all by themselves, don't you love it?? Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Imagination

Tonight Kaden and Brendyn were playing Cadoo...a game that sometimes involves one player drawing a word that the other players have to guess. Brendyn was up and had to draw something, but he had no idea how to go about putting this secret image onto paper. Kaden had the solution,

"It's easy!" he said, "you just trace your imagination."

Huh! Now why didn't I think of that?

(Kaden when he was little:)

Josie Little Josie

Josie just had her 9 month check up last week, and she is doing great! She is reaching all of her developmental milestones and we are so proud of her. She is crawling and kneeling (not quite standing) up on things. She is clapping and even doing "SO BIG" with her little hands together over her head:) And you should hear her little giggle, it just cracks me up!

The only thing the doc was concerned about was her weight gain. She went from the 80th percentile down to the 30th in the last 3 months. She now weighs 17 lbs. 14 oz, a whole pound less than her 6 month old cousin, Joseph! But the little stinker just isn't very interested in solids AT ALL! We're doing everything to entice her to eat, but for now it's mostly the bottle for her. I don't think I'm quite as concerned as the doc at this point, I'm not a big believer in those growth charts, and she is doing so well in every other area. Sooner or later every child grows and learns to eat, but for now, our little Josie, will be little.

Valentine's Day

Here is a gift I made for Brett for Valentine's Day:) By the way, the second song on the slide show is the one he played while he proposed to me.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our Little Munchkin is 8 Months Old!

Happy 8 months, Josie! Here she is taking a bath. She loves the tub,

and the camera...whenever she sees it she opens her mouth and gets

all excited and full of smiles. Naptime...all that scooting around on her tummy tired her right out!

Plus, she's catching a nasty cold...poor baby! Jordan tried a hat on Josie and took a few pictures, it looks like she's

waving at us in this one. By the way, I've been sewing again and I made the jammies she has on.Here she is with her big sister, and both of them are in their new jammy

pants...I made them, too:) Everyone in the family got a pair, I've been busy!!

Art Teachers

Today Kaden and Brendyn were working on a little art project and they got on the subject of art teachers. Here's what Kaden had to say,

"Yeah, art teachers aren't very smart, they're just obsessed with art."

Merry Christmas!

I never did send out Christmas cards this year...but if I had, this would have been the picture on them:) We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Our family had a wonderful Christmas with family. We did lots of visiting, cooking, eating, and the kids got way too many gifts, including a Nintendo Wii from Santa! They were all very surprised and happy.

Josie took her first trip to the mall to visit Santa, and she wasn't even scared. She did, however, try to pull on his suspender.

Here's Kaden dressed up in his Nerf Dart Tag gear that him and Brendyn got from Santa. He added his winter hat and gloves to the outfit for added effect. HA!

We were lucky enough to have Sarah and Sterling and the kids stay with us for FOUR nights! The kids had sooo much fun playing with all the new toys, and Sarah and I got to do a lot of catching up...and shopping:) Brett and Sterling played with Brett's new remote control helicopter until it broke when it crashed into the ceiling (don't worry, Sterling, I won't mention who did it!) Oh, and by the way, they fixed it and it works fine.

Joseph and Josie had a blast smiling at each other and rolling around on the floor. Josie was a little confused as to why she couldn't grab Joseph and bite him like she does everything else, but some day she'll understand. They were so cute together, and it was so amazing to realize how fast they are growing! We are just trying to enjoy every minute with our little babies.

Here's all the big kids having popcorn on the couch over the weekend...talk about growing fast!!

Maybe She Does Like It...

...when she feeds herself!!

Who'da Thunk It??

This is what Josie thinks of rice cereal...for that matter, it's what she thinks of oatmeal, bananas, and applesauce also! She doesn't care to eat solids at all yet, who'da thunk it??

Here's Josie with her two fangs (just like her big brothers looked as babies:) Oh, and tonight I noticed a brand new tooth, one of the front ones! Her and Kaden are both getting them in at the same time...again, who'da thunk it??

"Wow, I have toes!" Who'da thunk it?

And look, my two boys who so badly wanted a little brother actually love their little sister...who'da thunk it??

Check Out Those Eyelashes!!

She doesn't get those from her mama!